Jessica Blum-DeStefano

Jessica Blum-DeStefano is a Lecturer and Supervised Fieldwork Advisor at Bank Street College of Education's Department of Educational Leadership. She holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her work focuses on adult development, social justice leadership, and qualitative research, emphasizing interconnection between individual growth and systemic change. She co-facilitates professional learning institutes for educators nationwide to foster compassionate, equitable learning environments.

• Education:
• PhD in Educational Leadership, Teachers College, Columbia University

Her research interests include adult developmental theories, feedback strategies for educators, K-12 alternative education, and systemic equity. Recent scholarship explores how leaders navigate challenges through internal growth and how feedback practices can build organizational capacity. Her publications address topics like feedback culture, principal advocacy, and racial equity in education.

Co-authored books include Leading Change Together (2018) and Learning for Leadership (2013). She presents nationally on topics such as authentic teaching practices in alternative schools and developmental approaches to social justice.

Advising focuses on fieldwork supervision for leadership students. Professional institutes she co-leads emphasize mindfulness, equity, and collaborative leadership. She has no listed grants but actively contributes to Bank Street's graduate programs in educational leadership.